Culture & Subjectivity Course Syllabus - Spring 2023 (original) (raw)

This course examines the influence of neoliberal economic doctrine on contemporary culture and considers the cultural implications of neoliberalism’s recent decline. As such, the course considers the distinctive social and psychological characteristics of neoliberal culture and possible alternative conceptions of the social and forms of subjectivity in the 21st century. Neoliberalism is a contested signifier that designates both an economic philosophy / program and a cascade of cultural changes that began coalescing and accelerating in the early 1980's and has continued to exert an influence that has only recently been challenged by the resurgence of nationalism ushered in by the Trump era which has reverberated across the globe. Over the course of its development, neoliberalism has had widespread impact not only as an economic program that spurred and intensified globalization but also as a cultural ideology that has influenced self-concept and modes of social relating. This course focuses on the concept of human subjectivity and how subjectivity appears within a neoliberal horizon. The critical psychologist Thomas Teo states, "society, culture, and history provide forms (molds) of subjectivity, whereby (developing) individuals have the agency to sometimes choose, expand or change forms, and in rare circumstances, they may even be able to transcend these forms. Under normal circumstances, however, humans adapt, (ful)fill, and actively 'suture' into these forms, allowing for variations and new actualizations." To elucidate the current cultural molds informing neoliberal subjectivity, the historical development of neoliberal economic doctrine and its implementations will be studied, followed by an examination of neoliberal cultural products (e.g. Serial TV and Social Media) considering both their content and form. Finally, the rise of populisms on the political right and left will be considered in relation to the effects of neoliberalism as well as what social and subjective alternatives exist within our current indeterminate conjuncture.